The Phillies have acquired 38-year old righty swinging infielder John McDonald from the Cleveland Indians for a player to be named later or cash considerations. McDonald has played in 24 games this year with the Pirates and Indians and he is 2 for 38 (.053 avg, .242 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 0 homers and 1 RBI. McDonald has now played in 978 games in his first 15 years in the majors and he is 549 of 2,327 (.236 avg, .601 OPS) with 266 runs scored, 27 homers, 202 RBIs and 33 stolen bases. McDonald is a wizard with the glove, so look for him to do most of his work with Philly as a defensive replacement.

20-year old righty swinging 3B Maikel Franco came into this season as the Phillies’ #8 prospect in Baseball America and he’s showing why so far in the minors in 2013. He has played in 70 games in A+AA-ball so far this year and he is 90 for 285 (.316 avg, .967 OPS) with 46 runs scored, 18 homers and 57 RBIs. Franco has now played in 324 games in his first four years in the minors and he is 340 of 1,249 (.272 avg, .774 OPS) with 164 runs scored, 37 homers, 214 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. The Phillies are likely going to put Franco on the fast track to the majors now….if he can handle it.

The Phillies have signed 36-year old righty reliever Mike MacDougal to a minor league deal. He pitched in 17 games (0 starts) for the Reds in AAA-ball earlier this year and he was 0-1 with a 5.49 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP. MacDougal last pitched in the majors back in 2012 with the Dodgers. MacDougal has now pitched in 407 games (3 starts) in his first 12 years in the majors and he is 18-23 with 71 saves, a 4.00 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP. If MacDougal looks good, he might not spend much time in AAA, as the Phillies need help in the pen right now.

The Philadelphia Phillies are now 36-40 (47.4%) on the season, which has them in 3rd place in the N.L. East, 7.5 games behind the Braves. They are also 8.5 games back in the Wild Card race. If the Phillies don’t get hot soon, they are going to have to consider rebuilding on the run. Phillies’ GM Ruben Amaro wants to keep the pitching together, so I don’t think he would deal Cliff Lee or Jonathan Papelbon unless he is made an offer that he can’t refuse. The Phillies could put up the whole starting infield for grabs. Due to Ryan Howard’s contract, I would be stunned if another team made a legit offer for him. But, Chase Utley (Orioles, Royals and A’s), Jimmy Rollins (Cardinals and Pirates) and Michael Young (Red Sox, Yankees and Dodgers) will likely garner a lot of interest on the trade market. John Mayberry, Delmon Young, Laynce Nix and Kevin Frandsen could also be made available by the Phillies next month if they don’t make a run soon.

The Phillies have placed 26-year old righty reliever Michael Stutes on the 15-day disabled list due to right biceps tendinitis. He has pitched in 14 games (0 starts) for the Phillies so far this year and he is 2-1 with a 5.17 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. The Phillies have called up 24-year old righty reliever Phillippe Aumont to replace Stutes in the pen. Aumont pitched in 16 games (0 starts) earlier this year for the Phillies and he was 1-3 with a 4.15 ERA and a 2.08 WHIP.

The Phillies have placed 34-year old righty reliever Mike Adams on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to June 20th, due to bicep tendinitis. Adams has pitched in 28 games (0 starts) for the Phillies so far this year and he is 1-4 with a 3.96 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. Adams has given up 23 hits and 11 walks while whiffing 23 batters in his first 25 innings so far this year. The Phillies hope that Adams returns soon as the pen is starting to thin out talent wise.

UPDATE: (6/25/2013) – Mike Adams has two tears in his right labrum and a tear in his rotator cuff. He is done for the 2013 season.

The Phillies have designated 30-year old switch-hitting infielder Michael Martinez for assignment. Martinez played in 6 games for the Phillies this year and he was 0 for 4 (.000 avg, .000 OPS) with 1 run scored. He played in 139 games in his three years with the Phillies and he was 61 of 328 (.186 avg, .506 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 5 homers, 31 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Martinez will probably clear waivers and accept an outright assignment to AAA, because infielders that flat out can’t hit are not big time commodities on the open market.

UPDATE: (6/24/2013) – Michael Martinez has cleared waivers and he has been outrighted to AAA.

36-year old righty swinging 3B Michael Young is starting to heat up with the bat for the Phillies so far in June. He has played in 16 games so far this month and he is 24 of 68 (.353 avg, .862 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 1 homer, 6 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 67 games overall this year and he is 70 for 246 (.285 avg, .745 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 3 homers, 17 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The Phillies need all of the help that they can get offensively, so they need Young to keep hitting the ball well moving forward.

The Phillies have placed 27-year old lefty reliever Jeremy Horst on the 15-day disabled list due to a strained left elbow. Horst has pitched in 28 games (0 starts) so far this year for the Phillies and he is 0-2 with a 6.23 ERA and a 1.81 WHIP. Horst has had a rough time for the Phillies so far in 2013. He has now pitched in 60 games (0 starts) in his first two years with the Phillies and he is 2-2 with a 3.45 ER and a 1.43 WHIP. The Phillies hope that Horst comes off the D.L. pitching like he did in 2012.

32-year old righty closer Jonathan Papelbon has been amazing so far this year for the Phillies. Papelbon has pitched in 24 games (0 starts) for the Phillies so far this year and he is 0-0 with 13 saves, a 1.46 ERA and a 0.69 WHIP. He has given up 14 hits and 3 walks while whiffing 23 batters in his first 24 2/3 innings so far this year, which is pretty amazing. He has now pitched in 94 games (0 starts) for the Phillies so far this year and he is 5-6 with 51 saves, a 2.19 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP. A lot of people scoffed when the Phillies signed Papelbon to a big contract, but he has been worth every dime and then some so far since joining them.